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Story From Pomerleau Real Estate: F-35 jets vital to a dynamic Vermont workforce

Fed up with the smokescreens of distraction and evasion, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont took point-blank aim at the issue of what the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter means to the state’s Air National Guard.

Fed up with the smokescreens of distraction and evasion, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont took point-blank aim at the issue of what the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter means to the state’s Air National Guard.

During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing May 17, Sen. Leahy asked Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson for a straight answer on the potential impact were the VTANG not to receive basing of the next-generation fighter jet. Wilson’s response confirmed what thousands of Guard members and supporters have long feared.

“If the F-35s don’t go to Vermont, the F-16s will eventually age out, and it’s highly likely that Vermont will no longer have a flying mission for its Guard,” Wilson said.

The grounding of VTANG would change the unit, and its role as an integral part of the community, probably forever. The most obvious impact would be job losses, which could number well into the hundreds — but the effects would extend far beyond, into the very fabric of the unit.

“The bottom line is that the needs of the Air Force dictate the mission that you’re in,” said Brigadier General Dick Harris (Ret.), an 18-year-veteran pilot who served as commander of the unit’s 134th Fighter Squadron from 2003 to 2005. “A mission change comes with an expense, in a lot of ways.”

Harris said the basing of such an advanced piece of technology with VTANG won’t be just a one-time shot in the arm for the unit. He said the continued development of the F-35 once it comes to Vermont will require those flying and supporting it to constantly expand their knowledge and abilities, to effectively “keep up” with the plane.(Photo11: Brigadier General Dick Harris (ret.))

Since the birth of the unit in 1946, the Green Mountain Boys have been defined by flight of the most technically advanced aircraft in the world. By necessity, that mission has drawn an immeasurable amount of talent, skill, passion and patriotism in the men and women who have flown and supported the unit’s mission.

“It attracts that fighting spirit, that ‘I give a damn’ spirit. That’s people you want as your neighbors, as well as answering the call,” said Captain Clay Shaner, a VTANG pilot and combat veteran. “It’s a work environment where people care, they feel challenged and they want to get better. That’s the kind of place you want to go into for work every day, and that definitely characterizes the Vermont Air Guard.”

Shaner described the fighter aviation business as “extremely challenging,” not only for its unique and often complex challenges but also the fact that once a plane is in the air, failure is simply not an option. That zero margin for error acts as the ultimate gauntlet for prospective Guard members to run, and results in a true cream-of-the-crop influx of ability and character.

“Not all military units have that, and that attracts the kind of person that’s willing to commit the time and perspiration, willing to work that hard and make sacrifices for the greater good,” Shaner said. “The fact that you have 1,000 of those people right there in Vermont adds value to your overall community.”

An economic impact study conducted by University of Vermont economist Art Woolf revealed that the Vermont Air National Guard “has more than 1,000 people on its payroll with wages of $41.4 million.”

Brigadier General David Baczewski (Ret.) understands the significance of that work force better than most, having served as wing commander from 2012 to 2014. Baczewski said any alternative mission to the F-35 would likely result in the downsizing of VTANG, on a potentially major scale.

“It’s not going to be 1,100 people,” Baczewski said. “It could be 400; it could be 100. It’s hard to quantify what it would be if it’s not a fighter unit.”

The F-35’s power as a job creator rivals its reputation as a formidable combat fighter jet. Lockheed-Martin estimates the program will create upward of 194,000 direct and indirect jobs in the U.S., while generating a whopping $31 billion in annual economic impact.

Shaner and Harris have each toured the facility in Fort Worth, Texas, where the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is produced, and were stunned by the amount of cutting-edge technology and capability built into each plane.

“The production line is over a mile long, with dozens of F-35s being constructed, piece by piece, by thousands of people,” Shaner said. “It was mind-blowing.”

Harris said the basing of such an advanced piece of technology with VTANG won’t be just a one-time shot in the arm for the unit. He said the continued development of the F-35 once it comes to Vermont will require those flying and supporting it to constantly expand their knowledge and abilities, to effectively “keep up” with the plane.

“The F-35 is very capable, and it’s going to continue to mature just like the F-16 did, over time, as technology changes and systems get updated,” Harris said. “It’s a significant advancement in technology, the next level.

“The F-35 will continue to let the VTANG grow into the future, and be a viable part of the Air Force. They’re on the cutting edge of new technology, and will continue to evolve as the F-35 matures as a weapons system.”

Without the F-35, a grounded VTANG would likely struggle to redefine itself after so many years as a proud fighter unit. Baczewski learned the effect that such a loss of identity can have on a community from his upbringing in Weirton, West Virginia, a town defined by its steel mill.

“That’s the whole life in that town; every relative I had worked in that steel mill, including my father. When I was falling asleep, I would hear them pouring steel throughout the night,” Baczewski said.

That mill has since closed, and Baczewski saw the dramatic impact on the community when he returned for a visit this spring.

“Everyone left,” Baczewski said. “There were really no friends to look up, because they’re all gone.”

“If VTANG were to cease being a fighter unit, its entire identity would change by default.”

Members of the editorial and news staff of the USA Today Network were not involved in the creation of this content.